By Neha Sultana

Welcome to the 2025 OISE Library Holiday Reads List!

Here at the OISE Library, the end of the Fall semester means that it is time to share our Holiday Reads list. With the aim of contributing to the practice of reading for leisure, rest, and rejuvenation over the holiday break each year, the OISE Library curates a list of reading recommendations from the OISE library team, and wider OISE community. With 2025 being the seventh year of our Holiday Reads list, we are proud to share seven pieces of holiday reading literature, all spanning many different genres, to indulge in over the next few weeks!

Be sure to grab your blankets, hot chocolate, and candles... we present to you, the 2025 OISE Library Holiday Reads List!

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Alisa Buckley, Access Services Generalist at the OISE Library, recommends Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson. Alisa says: “I re-read this for the first time since 2018. Nalo Hopkinson is one of my favourite authors, and was my introduction to the speculative genre. I think this is an incredible story to read and ponder, especially with the recent passing of certain legislative initiatives.”

Kaelan Graham, Master of Information student at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information, and intern at the OISE Library, plans to read Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World by Jason Hickel. The book "analyzes the climate crisis and breaks down strategies for effectively transitioning to a post-capitalist economy, away from the current model of infinite growth in a finite world. Hickel discusses the human-centric, extractive methods of the economy as it is and offers paths forward with a practical outlook on how we can turn towards a mindset of sufficiency and reciprocity. I find this approach to climate action fascinating and hopeful, I look forward to learning more about it over the holidays!”

Neha Sultana, Master of Information student at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information, and intern at the OISE Library plans to read As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh. Neha says: “While I have spent many of my reads this past year on either scholarly texts or healing fiction-genre books, I figured it was finally time to pick up a book (from a different genre) that has also been sitting in my to-be-read for far too long! As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow is a young adult, contemporary fiction, and historical fiction novel that follows the life of Salama Kassab, a young Syrian girl caught in the middle of the Syrian Revolution. The book follows the main character as she grapples with inner psychological struggles and her task to bring her pregnant friend to safety. I am looking forward to reading through this novel, learning from all of the real, raw experiences of the characters, and also admiring the beautiful cover art, which is what initially drew me to the book.”

Polina Vendrova, Metadata Creation Specialist at the OISE Library, recommends Beauty for Truth's Sake: On the Re-enchantment of Education by Stratford Caldecott. Polina says: “To those interested in the revival of classical education (and to those not yet interested in it), this book provides a glimpse into what education can be. Math, music, history, science, rhetoric intertwine and sing together to manifest the incredible beauty and wisdom of this universe that we hardly notice when teaching (or learning) disconnected 'subjects'. This small book is literally breathtaking; I had to pause for days after reading some chapters just to digest what I had just read.”

Jenaya Webb, Director of the OISE Library recommends Flashlight, a novel by Susan Choi, which was recommended by an OISE colleague. Jenaya says: "The book begins on a beach in Japan in the 1970s. A young girl is discovered suffering from hypothermia having almost drowned. She had been taking an evening walk with her father, who is nowhere to be found... Flashlight weaves a family story that reaches across generations and geographies and illuminates the secret lives of its characters. It is a beautiful book to sit with over the holiday break."

Desmond Wong, Outreach Librarian at the OISE Library recommends Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism by Eve L. Ewing. Desmond read this book in 2025 and says "it was an important reminder on the way that the education system has done wrong by Black and Indigenous students. It traces the ways that the system also reflects dominant narratives about communities that were based in racism and inaccuracy.”

Ness Wong, Master of Information student at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information, and intern at the OISE Library recommends Blunt Instruments: Recognizing Racist Cultural Infrastructure in Memorials, Museums, and Patriotic Practices by Kristin Ann Hass. As a library science student and history buff, Ness thinks this book is “an excellent reflection of the power of cultural infrastructure." Ness says: "I found it to be very relevant to my interests and my field of work. It's such an incredibly engaging read and it's not very long. After finishing the book, I found myself looking at the infrastructure around me in a completely different way. It makes you reflect on the architecture that surrounds you, the statues, the building names, and the monuments you see. I highly recommend it to general audiences!”

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We would like to thank each of our community members for their wonderful contributions and willingness to share their leisure reading plans for the next few weeks. To all reading, on behalf of the OISE Library team, we wish you a warm, joyous, and restful holiday break, and look forward to seeing you in the new year!

OISE Library Holiday Reads 2025 Edition